Kabbalah in one hour: Gil Sheer's claim that it is a method, not a religion

The word Kabbalah tends to evoke Jewish mysticism, symbols and red strings. In Hebrew, it means "receiving," and the term designates, in its most common definition, an esoteric school of thought within Judaism that seeks to explain the relationship between an infinite, unreachable God, the Ein Sof, and the finite universe. There are, however, those who present it quite differently.

Gil Sheer, in a lecture of about an hour titled "Kabbalah explained simply," proposes a reading that shifts Kabbalah out of the religious field: it would be a science of perceiving reality, with a defined method for expanding what a person takes in from the world. This is the presentation of a school of thought by one of its own teachers, and comparing it with the traditional definition shows how the term can house distinct projects.

Method, not religion

For Sheer, Kabbalah is not Judaism, tarot, meditation, or philosophy. He describes it as an empirical method for developing a new sense, a kind of spiritual antenna, which would pick up subtler layers of reality, the way a radio tunes into waves we cannot see. It would not just be a refinement of the five senses, but a leap in dimension, comparable to that of a flat being who suddenly perceived depth.

The goal would be to come into contact with hidden forces of nature, especially that of "giving," which lies beyond the reach of the ordinary senses. The separation from Judaism is the point where this approach departs most from the academic definition, which treats Kabbalah as the foundation of mystical interpretations within Judaism.

The origin: light and vessel

In the Kabbalistic narrative Sheer lays out, creation begins with a force of complete giving, the "light." It creates the kli, a Hebrew word meaning "vessel," a container capable of receiving that light. The vessel is the creature, which in essence would be a desire to receive pleasure.

In the initial state, which he calls State A, light and vessel coexist in harmony, like an embryo in the womb. What that relationship lacks is independence: to stand at the same level as the light, the creature needs autonomy. Hence the separation known as the "breaking of the vessels," which fragments the soul and gives rise to the world as we know it, State B.

The conscious return

The goal of Kabbalah, in this line, is to bring the soul to State C, a return to the origin, but with its own consciousness and will, unlike at the start. The journey is described as a climb of 125 spiritual degrees, corresponding to the levels at which the light was concealed during the breaking.

There are two ways to travel it. On the path of pain, those who resist inner change are pushed along by crises and suffering. On the path of light, the person awakens of their own will and grows through study, through fellowship with others, and through inner work, and the process would be gentler. Both lead to the same destination, but only the second is voluntary.

Swapping the intention

The reality we perceive, Sheer says, is filtered by the five senses and by intention. The body would function like a black box that interprets everything through a single program: receive pleasure and avoid pain. Kabbalah would propose reprogramming that intention, moving from receiving for oneself to learning to receive with the purpose of giving. For him, the change alters the perception of reality, not just one's psychological state.

The force that would carry out this transformation is called the "Light That Returns to Good," or "Reforming Light." Already present in the final state, it could be drawn in by a sincere desire to evolve and would reconfigure one's inner intention. Sheer points to three conditions for attracting it: an authentic teacher, Kabbalistic books written by those who would have reached elevated spiritual states, and a group gathered around the same goal.

Spiritual technology

Sheer treats Kabbalah as a spiritual technology of transformation, not as an end in itself. He sums up the idea in the phrase: "you are already in the state of perfection — you just need to develop the eyes to see it." For him, true spirituality does not consist of accumulating power or knowledge, but of freeing perception by changing one's intention.

What the proposal offers, and what it asks for, is laid out plainly for the reader: a closed system of explanation, which calls for a teacher, books and a group, and which presents itself as a method without presenting itself as a faith. For anyone coming to the topic, it is worth keeping in mind that this is one of several ways Kabbalah is read today.